Fitz and The Tantrums will release More Than Just a Dream, the follow up to 2010’s Pickin’ Up the Pieces, on May 7. Produced by Tony Hoffer (Beck, M83, Depeche Mode, Phoenix) at The Sound Factory, Studio B in Los Angeles, CA, the forthcoming album will be the band’s debut release for Elektra Records.
The album takes its title from the chorus of the release’s first single, “Out Of My League.” The song is an exhilarating slice of pop-soul. “The way our fans embraced us and made Pickin’ Up the Pieces such a success has been far beyond anything we could have imagined,” says Fitz.
Fitz and The Tantrums’ arrival at Elektra marks a reconnection with the label’s recently-appointed president Jeff Castelaz, who signed the band to their original deal at Dangerbird, the Los Angeles-based independent record label he co-founded in 2004.
“Fitz and The Tantrums’ individual artistry aligns perfectly with Elektra’s storied legacy and I’m thrilled that they are my first new signing here,” said Castelaz. “This band and their team are family to me, and I look forward to continuing the incredible journey we started together back in 2010.”
In December, the band previewed songs from the new album in a trio of high-profile shows, opening for Jason Mraz at Madison Square Garden and playing two nights with No Doubt at Los Angeles’ Gibson Amphitheater, eliciting praise from Stereogum.com for its “high octane brand of…neo-soul.”
Fitz and The Tantrums – comprising Fitz (vocals), Noelle Scaggs (vocals/tambourine), James King (saxophone), Jeremy Ruzumna (keyboards), John Wicks (drums) and Joseph Karnes (bass) – played its first show in December 2008 at Hotel Café in Hollywood, CA. After self-releasing the five-song 2009 EP Songs for a Breakup, Vol. 1, Fitz and The Tantrums soon found themselves appearing on KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” touring with Maroon 5, and recording their full length debut, Pickin’ Up the Pieces. The album spent 73 weeks on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart, peaking at No. 1.
The band was named a “You Oughta Know” artist by VH1 and views for the video for their hit single “MoneyGrabber” surpassed three million. The band supported Pickin’ Up the Pieces with two sold-out U.S. headline tours, performances at numerous major music festivals, and national television appearances on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Conan,” “Last Call with Carson Daly” and “The Rachael Ray Show.”
“[These] soulful Angelenos throw a sparkling pop gloss on a familiar Motown sound,” said Rolling Stone, which awarded the album three-and-a-half stars and featured the band in its “Hot List” issue. “Pickin’ Up the Pieces…bursts with danceable hooks,” said The New York Times while Esquire praised it as “positively infectious.”
